{"id":2155,"date":"2016-09-10T16:51:55","date_gmt":"2016-09-11T00:51:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/?p=2155"},"modified":"2016-09-10T16:51:55","modified_gmt":"2016-09-11T00:51:55","slug":"a-mystery-with-no-end","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/?p=2155","title":{"rendered":"A Mystery With No End"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>A Mystery With No End<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I have been an explorer all my life.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

It is one reason I don\u2019t have a wife.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

There are few places left to explore.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

All has been seen by man before.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Word came down of a hidden valley.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

In South America, a jungle alley.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Smoke was seen during an over flight.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Otherwise, it would remain out of sight.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

So, off I went with my usual crew.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

What we would find, no one knew.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The valley was narrow and overgrown.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Easy to see why it was never known.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

With ropes, we fought our way down.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Using machete\u2019s, we reached ground.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

A flat floor with a river going through.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Barely enough room for the crew.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

We found a path and followed it.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Continuing, though the forest was thick.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

We came to a village of sorts.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Buildings that seemed to distort.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

No one seemed to be around.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

There were no tracks upon the ground.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Suddenly, we were surrounded by them.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

They were known as the \u2018Leopard Men.\u2019<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The medicine man could speak English.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

How he learned it made me squeamish.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

These people had no outside contact.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

This valley was their only tract.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

They worshiped a mysterious leopard.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The medicine man was like its shepard.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Somehow, he knew that we were coming.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

English \u2018came\u2019 to him. He wasn\u2019t funning.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe leopard knows and sees all.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He said it with pride, like before a fall.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we leave we will remember nothing.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He told us that without any fussing.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He seemed to control all that happened.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He showed us a special map then.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I will take you to the Holy Leopard.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Only I know the way. I am his shepard.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The next day we set out, map in hand.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

With the very bizarre medicine man.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

After half a day\u2019s hike, we saw a cave.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Way up the side of a cliff in the shade.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThat\u2019s where we have to go.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

I said: \u201cI see no path, you know.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWe will all go up at once.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Then he gathered us all in a bunch.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

All at once, we all floated up to the cave.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the hell?\u201d I heard some rave.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe leopard brought us all up here.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The medicine man didn\u2019t think it queer.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cHe is inside, around to the left.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cHe is waiting in a natural cleft.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

We went on, and soon, we were there.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

We saw a large leopard sitting in a cleft.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He was silver, or maybe black? Just flecks?<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

He looked like a leopard, then again, he didn\u2019t.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

There was something we saw within it.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

His eyes had indescribable depth<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

If you stared too long, your pants got wet.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

There was something about those eyes.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

They seemed to, literally, hypnotize.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

We heard him speak within our minds.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI read the minds of every kind.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI know all about all of you already.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cYour favorite dish is Italian spaghetti.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are you?\u201d I asked in amazement.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cA visitor from the stars.\u201d His gaze a squint.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI am stranded for the time being.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cOthers are coming. Then I am leaving.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you all about myself.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cYou can compare me to one of your elves.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cTo you, I seem mystical, or magical.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cActually, I am not that radical.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, I cannot allow you to keep the memories.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThey could become an impossible threat to me.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter I am rescued, your memories will return.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is much that you will learn.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u2018Someday, your race will reach the stars.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThey will know that their ancestors met ours.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThings will go much better that way.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cYour knowledge of us is better for that day.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

We had very little to say.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

We learned much in the coming days.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Then, we set out on our way home.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

As soon as we left the valley, we were alone.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

We had new memories then of what happened.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Years later, our memories had a rapid retraction.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

We could remember it all in detail.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

We wrote books and articles about each tale.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

So, the knowledge of \u2018The Holy Leopard\u2019 went out.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Taken in by the world, without doubt.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Our knowledge advanced man rapidly.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Off to the stars, with a cat to see.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Our ancestors will join the galactic federation.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

With insight from a visitor from another nation.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

May this story be recorded in history.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Yet, much of it will remain a mystery.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

—————————————-R. W. Johnson—–(2016)<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0A Mystery With No End I have been an explorer all my life. It is one reason I don\u2019t have a wife. There are few places left to explore. All has been seen by man before. Word came down of a hidden valley. In South America, a jungle alley. Smoke was seen during … Continue reading A Mystery With No End<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,16,12,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fantasy","category-free-bird-poetry","category-random","category-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2155"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2156,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2155\/revisions\/2156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}